Ambush From Ten Sides 十面埋伏
for Guitar(s) and Live Electronics (2007) Op.18
Duration:
[ca.12"]
Instrumentation:
for Guitar(s) and Live Electronics
Premiere:
Philippe Pannier, guitar; Man Fang and Mikhail Malt, live electronics
Commissioned:
Commissioned by Ircam-Paris Production
This work was composed in 2007 and had its premiere on October 6, 2007 by guitarist Philippe Pannier, myself, and my teacher Mikhail Malt, with live electronics at Espace de Projection IRCAM-Centre Pompidou, Paris, France.
The title of this piece derives from a Peking Opera play that recounts the tale of Xiang Yu (232 BC - 202 BC), the self-proclaimed "Overlord of Western Chu", who was ultimately defeated by Liu Bang, the King of Han, around 202 B.C. In this play, Xiang Yu is ambushed by his enemies and forced to retreat, ultimately succumbing in his final battle. His beloved Concubine, Yu Ji, has remained by his side throughout the war, but in this last battle, she chooses to end her life with Xiang Yu's sword, unable to bear being a burden to him. Below are excerpts of her poignant reflections:
"I think and wonder, since first I traveled to theatres of war, how many years have run, how many times the frost of winter has fallen, the planets have spun! Ah, when, if ever, will my prayers be answered? When shall I see home again? And when will the vapors of war melt away into tranquil moonlight and radiant sun? What did they fight for, all those past heroes of mighty mettle, when all they won was their bones lying chill on the battlefield?"
For years, I have been captivated by the unique vocal styles and gestures of Peking Opera, which have served as a wellspring of inspiration for the musical ideas in this piece. Among the various IRCAM applications, I am particularly drawn to OpenMusic, which has proven invaluable for realizing some of my more complex compositional concepts. A significant portion of the work involved analyzing the Opera voice with AudioSculpt, which was later reimagined for guitar using OpenMusic. The electronics were crafted in Max/MSP and ProTools, utilizing various engines such as Spectral Delay, Harmonizer, Frequency Shift, Freeze, Spat, Reverb.
Thanks to the first performer of this piece Philippe Pannier, who dedicated countless hours during the summer of 2007 to master the Opera voice and other extended techniques on guitar. This piece is dedicated to him and has since been performed by a number of exceptional guitarists, including Seth Joel, Paul Bowman, James Garber, Jeff Lambert, and Dan Lippel.